


Baby-sitting with Josh

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-09-24
Updated: 2005-09-24
Packaged: 2019-05-30 09:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15093791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Josh enlists the help of Donna to babysit CJ's two nieces and nephews. Soup explodes. Chaos ensures.





	Baby-sitting with Josh

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Baby-sitting with Josh**

**by:** Kas 

**Character(s):** Donna Moss, Josh Lyman  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Comedy, Humor, Romance   
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Josh enlists the help of Donna to babysit CJ's two nieces and nephews. Soup explodes. Chaos ensures. Read on to find out more!   
**Written:** 2005-09-10  


Chapter One: It starts

*Josh*

The day was turning out pretty good. I mean, it was noon and, as yet, there were no disasters, hurricanes, vitos, unexpected revelations of undisclosed illness or any pissed off senators in sight.

It looked like it was going to be an ok day.

And then, as I was walking through the bullpen ...

"Josh!" I turned, startled, to see CJ rushing at me like a madwoman. I took an instinctive step back. When CJ's in one of her moods, it's a good idea to just stand back and let her pass. But she stopped in front of me, panting, and I blinked.

"Can I help you?"

"Josh!" She gasped, clinging to my arm and bending over, out of breath, "I need ... I need ..."

"What? What do you need?" I asked, bending over with her, trying not to smirk and wondering if she was going to have a heart attack right there in the middle of my bullpen.

"I need ... a favor ..." She finally got it out.

"Well, ok ..." I said hesitantly, straightening up as CJ took her hands off her knees and stood up as well, "What?"

"Oh, Josh, I just remembered that I have this thing with the president tonight!"

"Yeah..." I said slowly, "A reception, remember? For the delegation from China?"

"I know!" CJ practically wailed, "I forgot about it!" She suddenly stared at me intently, "Are you going?" 

"Nope." I couldn't hide my smirk this time, "Deputy chief of staff privilege- Leo and I tossed for it."

"Good!" CJ grabbed my arm again and I stared at her. She was starting to scare me. She was being weird, even for CJ.

"Ok, CJ, what..."

"I need you to baby-sit for me!" CJ said.

I felt the smirk slip off my face, "What?"

"Please, Josh?" CJ wheedled, dropping my arm, "There's no way I'm gonna be able to get out of this! I have to brief the press right after the reception!" 

"Baby...sit?" I repeated blankly. 

"Yes!" CJ practically shrieked, "I promised my brother I'd baby-sit his two youngest while they went out to dinner and a show tonight! Hogan, that's the oldest, is going to a friends house, and I don't want any of them to cancel!" 

"And so you're asking me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Jo-sh..." CJ whined at me, "Please? Come on, what were you planning on doing tonight anyway- sitting at home with a beer watching the reception on television?"

"No!" I said.

"Really?" CJ said skeptically.

"Yes! I was gonna have...light beer." I finished lamely.

"Uh-huh." CJ said. Then she grabbed my arm again, "Please, Josh!"

"I can't take care of houseplants! What makes you think I'm going to be able to baby-sit?"

"Josh..."

"Everything I touch dies!"

"You'll be fine!" CJ shook my arm, "Please?"

I sighed.

CJ shook my arm again.

"Puh-Leeeease?" She wheedled.

"Ok." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted them. What had I gotten myself into?

"Thankyou so much!" CJ squealed, "I'll give you the details later!" And with one last shake of my arm, she took off down that hall. I sighed again. Baby-sitting? What the hell was that?

Oh well, I mused, walking down the hall. Kids usually love me.

I suddenly caught sight of Donna making her way around the bullpen, her golden hair loose and swinging. I could feel an evil grin spread across my face as an idea occurred to me. It was if a little Devil-Josh had appeared on my shoulder.

Smirking, I made my way over to Donna.

"Donna, sweetheart?"

Donna jumped at that, and turned slowly. She looked rather frightened when she saw it was me. I never call anybody 'sweetheart' and I have to admit, I did sound a little sinister.

"What do you want?" She said cautiously, reversing slightly so her back touched the wall.

"Donna, my lovely, my sweetheart." I said, advancing on her.

She eyed me with distrust, "Who are you?"

"I have an assignment for you." I said, still advancing.

"What did I do? Am I fired?" She squeaked.

"No..." I leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "But guess what?"

"Uh...what?" She whispered back.

"You know how we both have tonight off?" I said, still whispering. Her hair smelled rather nice...

"Yeah?" 

"Well..."

"Yeah?"

I pulled back suddenly, startling her, "You're coming with me to baby-sit CJ's two little nieces and nephews!"

She stared at me for a minute, seemingly speechless. Then her face clouded over and she punched me hard on my left arm.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, grabbing my arm.

"You jerk!" She said, stomping away from me.

"Hey! What'd I do?" I said, following her.

"Get away from me!"

"Hey! Wait a sec!" I sensed she was genuinely pissed, but I couldn't figure out why. I grabbed her arm, "What's going on? Why are you mad at me!"

She swiveled around to face me, and she seemed to be struggling with herself for a minute, "You can't just tell someone what they're going to be doing, like, six hours beforehand!" She finally said lamely. It was a dumb excuse, and I knew it wasn't the truth, but I decided to let it go.

"Yes I can." I said, still holding onto her arm.

"Really?" She wrenched her arms out of my grip and folded them, "And why's that?"

"'Cause I'm your boss!" I gave her an impish grin.

"GRR!" She gave a strangled groan, "I have a life, you know! I have a life outside this place!"

"Were you going on a date, Donna?" I said patronizingly. 

"Yes!" She said, throwing up her hands.

My smile drooped at bit. For some reason, the idea of Donna dating has always bugged me. Maybe it's the gomers she goes out with. "Really?" I asked.

"Yes!" Donna said.

"Well..." I thought for a minute, and then my smile came back with a vengeance, "Not anymore!"

"You sound delighted." Donna muttered, folding her arms again.

"I am." I grabbed her shoulders and she looked at me resentfully, "I've just saved you an excruciating date with another one of your local gomers."

"And I suppose being with you is any better?" She spat back.

I was hurt, "I'm better than any of those guys," I said embitteredly.

Donna snorted.

"Hey, what happened to the girl who wouldn't stop at red lights if I was in a car accident?" I asked.

"Josh?" Donna leaned forward; "At the moment, if I could I'd beat you to death with a traffic light, I would."

"Hey, that's not very nice." 

"You ass." She said, but a smile crept onto her face and I knew that whatever she had been mad at me for was passing. She sighed, and I dropped my hands from her shoulders, "What time is this thing?"

"Uh, I dunno, CJ's gonna give me the details later on..."

"Here!" CJ suddenly wheeled into view and shoved a piece of paper into my hands; "Here's the address for tonight."

"Hey, CJ, Donna's gonna help me tonight!" I said, turning my imp grin on again. Donna scowled.

"Great." CJ said absently, "The baby is Michael, he's eighteen months, and the little girl is Emily, and she's four. Seven o'clock, ok?" And she was gone.

I blinked, "Boy, she gets around."

Donna, who had been leaning over my shoulder and writing down the address, now moved away. 

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked, bounding after her.

"I have work to do, Josh."

"So, are you coming tonight?"

"Yes, I'm coming to help you."

"Alright!"

"Ok, whatever. I'll see you tonight, ok?"

"Ok. Seven O clock!" I let her move away into the bustle of the White House halls and smiled.

Tonight was going to be easy!

~~

Chapter Two: The children from hell...

*Donna*

Checking my reflection in the mirror for the last time I sighed and glanced up at the house through my tinted windows.

_Josh was going to pay..._

I sighed again. I didn't want to get out of the car. I glanced at the watch on my car radio. It flashed 6:50 p.m. I shook my head.

It was just like Josh to rope me into something like this and then not show up on time. 

And where did he get off telling me what to do anyway?

If the truth were known, I wasn't really mad at him because he told me I had to come help him baby-sit. It was true, I _did_ have a date, but it would have been a disaster.

Just like all my other dates. 

To admit the truth, when Josh cornered me in the office this afternoon and started whispering in my ear, I thought...

Well...

I thought he was going to ask me out! I mean, jeez! What kind of a guy corners you, leans over and whispers in your ear and then...asks you to help baby-sit CJ's relatives!

Of course, I wasn't going to tell _him_ that! It would just inflate his already oversized ego and give him a reason to laugh at me, as if he hasn't already got enough reasons to do that anyway.

He frustrates me sometimes, like, honestly! What kind of a guy does that? Would someone tell me please? I'd really like to know why I probably hold the world record for the most worst date experiences!

I was sitting there; thinking all these depressing things, when suddenly Josh's black Porsche pulled up behind my car. 

"Donnatella!" He cried, hopping out of his car, his fine hair ruffling in the breeze.

I had to smile. Getting out of my own car, I locked it and proceeded to walk back to Josh. 

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey!" He greeted back, "Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath, "Yep."

"Ok." 

Walking up the steps, I had to admire the house. It was a sort of Gothic/modern look, with two storeys and a wide lot. Josh rang the doorbell.

A Redheaded woman opened the door, smiling.

"Hey, you must be Joshua Lyman," The woman greeted with a smile. Then she turned to me, "And you must be Donna Moss."

"Hi." We both chorused.

"I'm Maggie Cregg," The woman reached out and shook both of our hands, "CJ told me all about the little mix up. It's so nice of you two to volunteer for CJ."

My smile became fixed, "Wasn't it?"

"Anyway," Josh interrupted, clearing his throat and giving me a side look, "It's no problem, really."

I gave him a glare.

"Ok, then," Maggie said cheerfully, "Come on in and meet my husband and the kids." She opened the door fully and we followed her inside to a beautiful parlour. She led us through the parlour and into what looked like the den, where a man was sitting on the floor playing with two little children. 

"Oh!" The man looked up as we entered and stood, and I immediately saw that height ran in CJ's family. When he stood up I estimated he was about six foot two, maybe six foot three. His wife went to stand next to him, and was dwarfed by his height. 

"You must be the two CJ roped into baby-sitting for us!" The man joked. Then he held out his hand to Josh, "Frank Cregg." 

"Josh Lyman," Josh shook his hand, and then Frank extended his hand to me and I shook it.

"Donna Moss," I said with a smile.

"Well, here are the children," Maggie bent down to pick up the youngest, a little boy. He stared at me with enormous blue eyes and my heart melted. "This little one is Michael," Maggie said, "He's almost eighteen months."

"And this one is Emily," Frank said, taking his daughter by the hand and leading her around to face us, "She's four."

The little girl had the lightest blonde hair I'd seen for a long time. The last child I'd known to have hair that fine and long had been...well...me, when I was this age.

I didn't want to think about how long ago that had been.

I bent down, "Hello." I said.

"Hi," Emily whispered shyly.

I stood up again and Josh stood next to me.

"You won't have to worry about Hogan, our eldest," Maggie said, "She's staying at a friends house for the night." I nodded. 

"Well," Frank checked his watch, "We have a couple of minutes before we leave, so why don't we go to the kitchen and have a cup of coffee and we'll fill you in on a couple of things? Kids, you be good and watch the TV until we come back, ok?"

Nodding, we followed the couple to the kitchen where Frank, Josh and I sat, and Maggie put the kettle on.

"So," Maggie called to us over the boiling jug, "CJ was filling us in before. How long have you two been together?"

_Together!_ I felt my face turn red and took a sideways glance at Josh, who was also going red, before looking down at the tablecloth.

"No, No," Josh corrected, "We're not...you know...together..." He didn't seem to be able to get the words out.

"Oh!" Maggie looked surprised, "Oh, I'm sorry! It was just, the way CJ spoke, and you two seem so comfortable with each other..." She gave an evil grin, "Maybe you should try it."

"Maggie!" Her husband admonished, watching as my face became hotter and redder. He turned to me, "Don't worry about my wife. She just loves to set people up."

"I'm sorry." Maggie apologised, bringing the coffee to the table and putting it down in front of us, "So, what is your relationship?"

"Donna is my...uh...assistant..." Josh's face was still red, "We work together at the White House."

"Oh, ok." Maggie nodded, "And you both work with CJ?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Mostly Josh, but CJ and I are still good friends."

"Lovely!" Maggie enthused.

"Ok, well, we should be home by one at the latest," Frank said, "Is that too late?"

"No." Josh shook his head.

"Um...Michael should settle down in about half an hour, and Emily's bedtime is usually eight O clock, but she can stay up until Nine if she's good." Maggie took over the explanation, "They've been fed dinner, but if they get hungry they're ice blocks in the freezer for Emily and teething biscuits for Michael."

"Ok." I nodded, "We'll try and take good care of them."

"Ok...Oh!" Maggie suddenly seemed to remember something.

"What?" Frank turned to her.

"Oh, it's just I forgot to give Emily her bath..." Maggie shook her head, "It's ok, she can have it in the morning..."

"No, that's ok," I said, smiling, "We can do that!"

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked.

"I'm sure." I smiled.

"Ok." Frank checked his watch, "Well, we'd better be going."

Standing up, I watched as the two said goodbye to their kids. Then they left.

There was silence for a moment.

Then Michael burst into tears.

I rushed to him and picked him up, "Hey, it's ok!" I soothed, "Don't cry."

He quietened down and I put him back in his playpen. Then I looked over at Josh, and saw he was eyeing Emily, who was staring at him distrustfully.

I went to walk towards her, but she backed away. I looked at Josh.

"It's ok," Josh waved to me, "Kids love me." He walked over to her and bent down.

"Hey." He said friendlily, "My name's Josh. Do you wanna play?"

"No!" Emily squealed, kicking him hard in the shin. Josh gave a yelp of pain and fell backwards. Emily took off, squealing, and headed up the stairs.

"Josh!" I hurried over to him. 

"She kicked me!" He said in disbelief. 

"Are you ok?" I asked, standing over him.

"Yeah." He looked up at me, just as I bent down to look at him, and we came face-to-face.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, staring at each other, but it was Josh who finally broke contact and stood up. Then he looked around.

"Hey, where'd Emily go?" He said. 

The house was quiet. 

It was not good.

"Donna..." Josh trailed off, looking up the stairs. Looking around, I gasped in horror.

There was water gushing down the stairs.

"Come on!" I grabbed Josh and we thundered up the stairs. 

_Josh was SO going to pay..._

~~

Chapter Three: Welcome to my nightmare...

*Josh*

_How'd I get myself into this?_

Donna streaked ahead of me, up the stairs and into the bathroom, where Emily had turned on the cold tap and put the plug in the drain. The bathtub was overflowing rapidly.

And Emily was nowhere in sight.

I glanced around rapidly. 

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"How should I know, Josh?" Donna snapped back, quickly turning off the taps and surveying the damage Emily had done.

"Don't snap at me, Donna!" I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, you're the one who dragged me into this!" She stood up and faced me squarely, her hands on her hips.

"Hey!" I held up my hands, "You could have said no at any time!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

My voice was rising. 

"Could I have, Josh? Could I, really?"

"YES!" I felt my face going red. I thought Donna would back down, but she didn't. Instead, she stepped closer to me, poking a finger into my chest.

"Let's review, shall we? Everytime you don't wanna do something, you somehow manage to drag me into it as well!"

"Do I? Do I really?"

It occurred to me at that point that with such a high SAT score I should be able to think of some better words, but I was too angry to care.

"YES!" It was Donna's turn to yell, "You come over to me in the office, get close...and then... TELL ME I'M GONNA BABYSIT WITH YOU!"

"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT I WAS GOING TO SAY?" I said at the top of my voice.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA ASK ME OUT!" Donna threw up her hands. 

Well. I don't think that was supposed to come out. 

And then there was silence. 

"What?" My voice had returned to its normal volume. Except it was now squeaky and high...

"N-Nothing." Donna's face was now bright red, "Nothing." 

She made a break for it.

"Donna!" I grabbed her, "You thought I was gonna ask you out?" 

Her eyes filled with tears of mortification. 

"Donna..." I said gently, stroking her cheek. I saw the surprise reflected in her eyes.

Then I heard giggles. 

Donna turned her head, "Uh- oh." She said.

Yes.

We'd forgotten about the kids. 

Donna took off out of the bathroom and I headed down the stairs, following the giggles into the kitchen.

Where I found Emily, in the middle of the linoleum tiles, shovelling raw sugar into her mouth from a split bag on the floor. Off to her right, Michael had somehow managed to climb up the counter and put a can of soup in the microwave. There were crayon marks all over the walls and sugar all over the floor.

"JOSH!" I jumped as Donna flew into the kitchen, "Michael's not in his playpen, I..." her voice trailed off as I pointed wordlessly to the two children of Satan in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh, good lord." Donna put her hand to her mouth, "How did he get out of his pen?"

I pointed, "The elder of Satan's children must have set him loose."

"Josh!" Donna admonished. 

"Yeah." I set my mouth in a grim straight line. "You get Michael, I'll get Emily."

Donna looked at me doubtfully, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "I'll get her cleaned up, then we can fix up this godforsaken mess."

"Godforsaken!" Michael chirruped as Donna went over to him and picked him up.

"Josh!" Donna shot me another glare.

"Sorry." I shrugged.

Donna, shaking her head, left the room with the clean Michael, taking him back upstairs to bed. 

"Ok." I headed over towards Emily. She gave me another distrustful look, all the while still stuffing sugar into her mouth.

"Ok." I said again, kneeling next to Emily in the middle of the sugary mess, careful not to get too close, lest she kick me again, "I think that's enough sugar for one night, don't you."

"No!" Emily continued to shove the sugar in her mouth.

"Well, I do." I grabbed her and picked her up, turning her upside down. She squealed in glee.

"Noooooo!" She giggled, screaming.

"Yeeees!" I yelled back, uprighting her. She looked at me with more like than dislike.

"You know what?" I asked.

"What?" She asked back.

"I think it's time for someone to pay you a visit!" I was getting covered in sugar, but for some reason I didn't care.

"Who!" She giggled.

"The... _Tickle monster_!" I suddenly yelled, tickling her as I carried her up the stairs. I attacked her, tickling her from all sides. Emily went off into gales of laughter, trying to grab my hands to stop me, but being unsuccessful she just screamed with laughter.

~~

"Tell me a story!" Emily said after I'd gotten her a bath and gotten the headache into bed. Donna was still nowhere in sight. I suppose she must still be getting Michael into bed. 

"A story, huh?" I mused.

"Yeah!" Emily jumped up and down in bed.

"Well, you have to settle down and try to go to sleep." I warned, wondering if this trick was going to work.

"Ok." Emily settled down, laying on her pillow and sucking her thumb.

"One day there was a boy and his dog." I started, "One day the dog fell down a hole and the boy did, too. They became hole people. The end."

"No!" Emily squealed, giggling, "A real story!" 

"Oh, ok." I sighed. Then I looked over my shoulder, making sure Donna wasn't standing in the doorway, mocking me.

"Once upon a time there was a girl named Donnatella." 

"She sounds like Donna." Emily interrupted, taking her thumb out of her mouth.

"Yes, she does. Anyway," I continued, "She worked for a man named Joshua."

"Was Donnatella pretty?" Emily interrupted again.

"Yes, she was very pretty." I said, thinking of Donna in the next room, "In fact, she was a princess in disguise."

"Really!" Emily said, "Where were her mom and dad?"

"Wisconsin." 

"Where's that?"

"Excuse me," I fixed Emily with a mock glare; "Can I tell my story please?"

"Sorry." Emily giggled, putting her thumb back in her mouth.

"So, Donna...tella and Joshua worked together in a big white building. Joshua secretly had feelings for Donnatella, but he couldn't ever let her know."

"W-Why not?" Emily said, through a large yawn.

I paused, "No one actually knows." I said, "Everyone just assumed he had a big stick up his butt."

Emily giggled.

"So one day, Joshua had to babysit and he got Donna to come as well. It didn't go too well, with the eldest daughter eating a lot of sugar."

Emily giggled again faintly, her eyes closing.

"Anyway, the story ends with Joshua wishing for something he can never have. Donnatella."

"Josh?" Emily murmured.

"Yes, Em?" I said, standing up.

"You should marry Donna if you love her." Emily said through half-closed eyes.

"Should I, just?" I leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Maybe you're right. Goodnight, Emily."

"'Night Josh."

I turned off her night-light and went to exit.

And my heart stood still.

Donna was standing in the doorway, her mouth open.

"D-Donna!" I said, moving to the door. Donna backed up and I closed the door to Emily's room. Then I stood in front of her, trying to speak.

"I-I-I was just telling Emily a story."

"I heard." Donna's face was curving into a smile.

"You-You did?" Damn it- there was that squeaky voice again.

"Yes, Josh." 

"Well, ah...Just how much of my...story...did you hear?" I could feel my face turning red and I silently cursed my blood for making the situation worse, and the rest of the world for probably laughing their asses off at me at this point, for that matter.

"Um..." Donna thought, "All of it."

"All of it?"

And squeakiness has just reached a new level.

"Yeah." Donna moved closer, her eyes shining with tears, "Did you mean it?"

Mean it? My heart jumped, "Donna." I smirked, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Really?" Donna pulled back. Obviously it wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"Yes." I took her face in my hands. I just wanted to kiss her...

BANG!

"What the hell was that!" Donna yelled over the deafening noise.

I suddenly had a vision of the can of soup Michael had put in the microwave.

"Ahh, crap!" I took off down the stairs, Donna hot at my heels. 

I skidded into the kitchen to find the microwave still going, and the can of soup expanding, expanding...

"Josh, what the..." Donna yelled over the loud humming of the microwave.

"GET DOWN!" I yelled, pushing her to the floor.

KA-BOOM!

~~

Chapter Four: The trouble with the chicken soup is...

*Donna*

"GET DOWN!"

KA-BOOM!

The next thing I knew I was being forced to the ground while millions of bits of chicken flew over my head and the microwave exploded.

It occurred to me at that moment that _that_ was why the directions always said never to microwave the can.

Finally, the noise of the microwave died down, and I looked up. Josh was on top of me, shielding me from the worst of the chicken rampage that had once been soup. I felt flattered for a moment- Josh had thrown himself on top of me to protect me.

Too bad it was just an exploding soup can.

"Donna?" Josh's voice was muffled against my hair.

"Yeah?"

"You still alive down there?" 

"Yeah." 

"Oh, good." Josh got up, surveying the mess. I slowly got up as well, and gasped.

There was chicken...well... _everywhere._

On the walls, on the appliances, on the fridge, in every nook and cranny. On the upside, however, the microwave seemed to have survived. 

Although it, too, was covered in chicken and gooey crap.

I turned to Josh, and I couldn't help it. I started to giggle.

He turned slowly to me, "What?" He asked, perplexed.

"One day, my grandkids are gonna ask me 'Grandma Moss, what was the scariest thing that ever happened to you?' And you know what I'm gonna say?"

Josh shook his head, confused. His expression just made me giggle harder, tears streaming down my face, "I'm gonna say," I gasped out, "'Well, kids, I was once attacked by a giant can of exploding, rampaging chicken pieces!'" With that I started laughing in earnest, trying to wipe away the tears.

Josh's face cracked into a slow smile; "You're quite the freak tonight, aren't you?"

I couldn't answer; I could hardly breathe through my laughter.

And then Josh started to laugh. We must have looked so ridiculous: Standing in the middle of what must have looked like a war zone, chicken dripping off the walls and sugar all over the floor, laughing our heads off.

I sank to the floor, trying to catch my breath. Josh sat as well, and we laughed some more.

"Oh, Donna." Josh wiped his eyes; "You crack me up."

I looked over at him and started laughing again.

"What?!"

"You have chicken in your hair." I choked out. 

Then we started laughing again.

And there we sat on the floor, leaning against each other for support, laughing out everything that had happened over the last three years, and just enjoying the feel of each other.

When we'd calmed down a little bit, and I'd taken the piece of chicken out of Josh's hair (which caused more laughter) I got up.

"Let's clean up this place." I said, smiling at Josh. He got up, and I started to head to the sink. 

I suddenly felt something restrain me, and I looked back to see Josh had grabbed my arm.

"Josh, what-"

That was all I got out before he leaned towards me and planted his lips on my own.

Wow.

I pulled back, breathless. "What was that for?" I asked.

"Well..." He said quietly, "I just wanted to kiss you before anything else exploded."

And then he did it again.

Wow.

"Josh?" There was a small voice near the door, and Josh and I broke apart to see Emily in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Em!" Josh looked over, "What are you doing up?"

"Well..." Emily rubbed her eyes; "I heard something explode." Emily looked at us closely, "Are you getting married in chicken soup?"

And we both started laughing all over again.


End file.
